Hadrians Wall Path – Day 5

  • Start: Once-Brewed
  • Finish: Chollerford
  • Distance: 21.63 km
  • Time: 08:15:40

Today was definitely a day of two halves.

We started the morning well aware of the challenge which awaited us having seen the Peel Crags stretching into the distance from the top of ‘Mount Doom’ yesterday.

And wow, what a roller-coaster that was, from the off!

None of the climbs were long, apart from the last, but they were steep, usually stairs, and in fact for people carrying big packs, the descents were worse than the ascents! The ascents just hurt, if you put a foot wrong on the descents it could have been catastrophic.

In between the descents/ascents there were the ‘Gaps’. These have a variety of names, we had Peel Gap, Busy Gap and Milking Gap, which still looked like it might be relevant!

And of course, Sycamore Gap, which probably needs no introduction!

About half way into the roller coaster we came to Housteads Roman Fort aka Vercovicium. This impressive fort can be seen to advantage from Knag Burn Gap below, where you can see the wall stretching down from the fort to the Gap, where a great gate once stood.

We didn’t take the time to visit Housteads sadly, as we were worried about the amount of time the roller coaster was taking, we did stop for a quick ice-cream from the gift shop though.😀 🍨

After Housteads there were two climbs (Clew Hill and King’s Hill) that the guide book describes as ‘dipping swoops’. Hmmm, not sure what he was on by that point!

Then, we were on the final big climb of the day and of the holiday, Sewingshields Crag. This long steady climb was actually not as hard as we had feared and we reached the 325m summit with relief and took in the absolutely stunning views back along the crags.

The afternoon was a very different beast to the morning and in normal circumstances we would have absolutely revelled in the easy descents and light climbs with stunning views across Northumberland.

We also came across the Temple of Mithras, just outside Brocolitia Fort, which had some really amazing extant carvings.

However, the morning had been really tiring and we had nearly run out of water, as the weather was surprisingly hot today! We were completely saved by the man in the van, ‘Corbridge Coffee company’, in the car park of the Fort who we purchased Diet Coke from. I don’t have a photo, because I was a bit out of it, but he was a life saver!

Shortly after that, we were forced from the route to take an emergency detour down the road, by a group of ‘antsy’ cows with calves who had taken up residence, along with humping bull, by the ladder stile. This photo was taken from the safety of the road.

This cheered us both up immensely, however, as alongside Diet Coke, there is nothing guaranteed to increase your adrenalin more than not being trampled to death by cows engaging in a bit of what the guide book calls ‘protective excitement’ (I am seriously starting to worry about this guy!)

The rest of the gentle descent to Chollerford was a breeze, though we did spot a sign saying Newcastle 23 miles, less than a marathon to go!! 🏃🏃‍♀️

We bypassed Chesters fort,

not because it wouldn’t be a wonderful place to visit, though it would probably need a day to itself, but because, despite what it said on the sign, by the time we got there it was already closed 🥲

We are staying tonight at the George in Chollerford,

a large hotel which is clearly being renovated in stages. There are definitely minuses as well as pluses about staying here, but you can’t fault the energy and enthusiasm of the staff and I’m sure that the finished project will be great!

We have now left the high moors and so the next few days of our trip will hopefully be easier, but way less dramatic!

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